This invention relates generally to safety systems and more particularly to a safety system, body engagement means utilizable therewith and methods of using the safety system for preventing a person from falling from an elevated position while enabling him/her to safely descend therefrom.
Safety devices, such as rope grabs or other similar devices, have become a requirement for workers working in elevated positions due to government regulations and a general desire for safety. Such devices are designed to be fastened to the worker via a safety waist belt or harness via a lanyard. The rope grab is then designed to be attached to a safety line which is attached to some elevated structure independently of the scaffold or other movable structure upon which the worker may be working and which extends down to the ground or some lower elevation.
Prior art rope grab devices and methods of use in a safety system leave much to be desired from the standpoint of functionality in that their use typically leaves the person suspended from the safety line until that person can be rescued by use of a ladder, "cherry picker" or some other device to enable the person to be brought to the ground.
One prior art rope grab device which overcomes some of the disadvantages of prior art rope grabs is an inertia rope grab system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,110 issued to J. Thomas Wolner. Devices made in accordance with that patent are available from DB Industries, Inc., of Redwing, Minn. 55066, and are sold under the trademark DBI/SALA, Model LS-1442. Such a device is removably fastened to a 3/4" (19 mm) synthetic safety line and contains both an inertia and positive locking feature which enables the device to move along with the person as the person moves up or down with respect to the safety line, yet which grabs the safety line if the person should start to fall.
Other types of safety devices called "lowering devices" are disclosed in the patent literature and some are commercially available to enable an individual to safely control their descent down a rope. Those devices, while suitable for their intended purposes, do not protect an individual from an initial fall like a rope grab device. One such lowering device is that produced by Descent Control Inc., Fort Smith, Ark. as Model No. DT2&3 and is sold under the trademark SKY GENIE. The SKY GENIE device permits a person suspended from a safety rope to attach the device to the rope and control their descent down the rope. Examples of prior art lowering devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,220,511 and 3,250,515. Other prior art lowering devices include the device commonly known as the "rack," sold by Fitch Industries, Idaho and the repelling device commonly known as a "figure eight."
Accordingly, a need exists for a safety system for preventing a person from falling from an elevated position while enabling him/her to safety lower himself/herself in a controlled manner.
Prior art safety harnesses as well have suffered from numerous disadvantages. For example, it is believed that prior art harnesses have been difficult and time consuming for a person to initially put on prior to their ascent. Additionally, after a person wearing a prior art harness became suspended by the rope grab and safety line, the suspended person oftentimes found it very difficult to connect the harness to a lowering device such as the SKY GENIE lowering device, in order for the person to begin their self-actuated descent.
Accordingly, a need exists for a safety harness to be used in any type of system or environment for supporting a person at a position elevated from the ground.
Accordingly, a need exists for a safety harness to be used in any type of system or environment for supporting a person at a position elevated from the ground that also provides an alternative means of attachment to support that person from a safety line during use.